The purpose of this project is to develop a supplemental HIV/AIDS surveillance system to identify persons who have a diagnosis of HIV infection and who are not receiving care. The collected data will be used to determine the potential added resources that will be required when this population is linked to care.
Specific aims of the research are: 1. To identify persons who have a diagnosis of HIV, but who are not receiving care. 2. To ascertain barriers to receiving care through patient interview. 3. To determine the clinical status of persons who have a diagnosis of HIV infection, but who are not receiving care, to estimate the added resources that would be required when these individuals are linked to care. Data collected for routine HIV/AIDS surveillancewill be used to identify individuals who have been newly diagnosed with HIV but are not in care. These individuals will be offered participation in the project and, if they accept, will participate in an interview and blood draw. An important national and local goal is to describe the characteristics of persons diagnosed with HIV but not receiving care. An estimated count and description is critically important for estimating the community's resource needs. Additionally, identifying barriers to care and then designing interventions to overcome these barriers will allow more individuals to receive care, which will result in both personal and community benefits. Persons who are in care can benefit from receiving prophylaxisfor opportunistic infections, having their immune status monitored and,recommended, being treated with antiretroviral drugs. New HIV therapies may lower viral load and reduce the degree of infectiousness, thereby reducing HIV transmission. In addition, person in care are more likely to receive ongoing prevention messages,which may also reduce behaviors that result in transmission and further spread of HIV in the community.
